We posted the Poem of the Month for nine years and have ended the series. Here is Nancy's most famous poem. From Many Winters, 1974, by Nancy Wood Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth. Hold on to what you believe even if it is a tree which stands by itself. Hold on to what you must do even if it is a long way from here. Hold on to life even when it is easier letting go. Hold on to my hand even when I have gone away from you.
loss
I wish the quiet heart – March 2022
From War Cry on a Prayer Feather, 1979, by Nancy Wood
I wish the quiet heart.
Forced to choose a separate world
I crawl in order to stand alone.
I wish the quiet heart.
An exile from my borrowed land
I search for a place to call home.
I wish the quiet heart.
I wish the quiet land.
All around me quiet.
All around me peaceful.
All around me lasting.
All around me home.
The Breath of Fire – February 2022
From Sacred Fire, 1998, by Nancy Wood
The sacred mountains call to me when life becomes
too hard to bear
and all that stands between me and despair is
a little waterfall. With each mile I climb,
my sadness melts away
and I feel my old self returning.
The sacred mountains cure my anger
and replenish my will to resist
those who would diminish me.
In wildness, I am made whole by beauty.
In wildness, I am humbled by majesty.
In wildness, I am content to find
eternity in a buttercup
and courage in a drop of rain.
A long time I have lived with you – February 2020
From Many Winters, 1974, by Nancy Wood
A long time I have lived with you
And now we must be going
Separately to be together.
Perhaps I shall be the wind
To blur your smooth waters
So that you do not see your face too much.
Perhaps I shall be the star
To guide your uncertain wings
So that you have direction in the night.
Perhaps I shall be the fire
To separate your thoughts
So that you do not give up.
Perhaps I shall be the rain
To open up the earth
So that your seed may fall.
Perhaps I shall be the snow
To let your blossoms sleep
So that you may bloom in spring.
Perhaps I shall be the stream
To play a song on the rock
So that you are not alone.
Perhaps I shall be a new mountain
So that you always have a home.
When I feel the world’s harsh breath – June 2019
From Many Winters, 1974, by Nancy Wood
What can I do when I feel the world’s harsh breath and know
That if I stay too long in its path
My path shall be burned up also.
I must go back to the land again
And find the eagle at home with the rock.
I must climb to the mountaintop
And find the spot where the river begins.
I must lie quietly beside the earth
And find the warmth of its heart.
I must turn my vision to the sky
And find the purpose of clouds.
Then trouble seems far away
And the breath which consumes all beauty
Has passed right over me.